I had the pleasure of attending the performance of B.F.E. on Wednesday, March 21st. The play had many strengths and a couple weaknesses, but overall I really enjoyed it! It had necessary comedic reliefs soften the mood of the serious scenes of the play. Each component of the performance had an impact on the audience. The costumes were one of my favorite parts of the play because they were realistic and easy to recognize. Panny’s outfit definitely resembled an outfit of a young teenager in the nineties, especially with the light wash jeans and scrunchie! It was easy to recognize her age range with the outfit. Her costume compared to her friend Nancy’s was obivous in the beginning. Nancy wore a short overall dress that seemed a bit more open than Panny’s. Nancy’s character is much more outgoing than Panny which was translated into their costumes. Isabell’s fluffy pink robe screamed, “DIVA” which was fitting for her character. She is a stuck-up mom who focuses on her beauty for a living. It seemed like she just spent her day relaxing at a spa and lounging around. Evvie’s costume had a nerdy, quirky look with her chunky jewelry and patterned skirt. Lefty’s neutral colored uniform displayed his shy personality. Once he was getting more comfortable and confident, he dressed up in a more stylish button-down shirt. It was a shift in character that was seen physically as well as emotionally. Hae-Yoon wore a navy blue unfirom that had a buttoned jacket, high socks, and pleated skirt. Her uniform represented traditional culture from Korea and contrasted between the casual American style. It went well with her preppy personality. They all complimented the characters so well and it was one of the strengths of the play. The portrayal of the characters were also some of the best components to the play. The actors and actresses overall did a great job during their performance but some stood out more than others. Hae-Yoon was my favorite character because of the excitement she brought to the stage. Well, technically she was not on stage, she was in the balcony above the audience. When she read out her letters to Panny, she projected her voice loud enough for the audience to hear her. It seemed as though we were all listening to her read in our heads because she was not on stage. It was a unique and perfect choice to have her on the balcony! Her accent made the letters seem much more authentic than it would have been without one. Hae-Yoon brought laughter that was needed for intense moments in the play. Lefty’s shy, nerdy personality was enhanced by the actor’s timid voice. He stuttered at the perfect time when he and Evvie had intimate conversations. Evvie’s performance was a comedic relief similar to Hae-Yoon! Evvie’s character is an outgoing, department store cashier who was portrayed by an amazing actress. She brought out Evvie’s creative ideas that confused me while reading the script. Her hand gestures helped me understand her point of view which made the conversation with Lefty easier to follow. Another strong character was Panny’s mother because of her difficult personality. The actress brought out the diva in Isabel and I enjoyed it. She gave her an accent and made sure to be very graceful. She fluttered her lashes in a flirty way when she was with Jack and it made the scene believable. She did a good job, but she was not my favorite character just merely based on the character herself, not the actress’ performance. The actor for Jack/General was such an appropriate choice because he was handsome, yet did look a bit young. He was charming as the general, but as Jack, he was more immature and silly. Panny did a decent job because the way her character is structured. She is a moody teen and she does not stand out too much compared to some of the other stronger characters. I do not think her performance was the best, but it was not horrible by any means. However, I did miss the her first monologue at the beginning so I can not critique her performance at the beginning. The set for B.F.E. was minimalistic and left it up to the audience to imagine it. They placed crates on one side of the stage while the other side has a couch and television. I have seen a couple places in the past were the set had massive pieces that required so much time to move between scenes. I enjoyed the flow of the play better without such a wild set because it helped focus on the performance itself. B.F.E. does not need specific decorations that make the play succeed, it only needed a few basic things like the telephone and T.V. The transitions, which were the dimming of the lights, were quick and simple. Longer transitions with more decor distract the audience and break up the pattern of the performance. It was easy to imagine the different scenarios in which the characters were in such as Panny’s bedroom or the mall food court. A simple set was the perfect choice for this piece because of the fast paced, short scenes. There were a couple specific sounds that were heard throughout the play. The main focus was the telephone ringing in various scenes. It was important to actually hear the ringing because the set is so simple, key details are important. The ringing during the last couple minutes of the play was symbolic and brought together the entire message of the play. The television playing Isabel’s documentary was the queue for the General to sweep her off her feet. I enjoyed that the audience could hear the commentary from the T.V. because without it, she was just be staring into a blank screen. Music was heard in serious times such as when Panny was alone with the mysterious man. The eerie music intensifies the scene and leaves the audience at the edge of their seat! Even though music was kept to a minimum, it parallels with the simplistic theme of the set. Lighting was another point that was key to the interpretation of the play. Panny begins with her monologue where the light focuses on her in the middle of the stage. When I read the script, I imagined her to be thinking to herself. Whenever Panny read Hae-Yoon’s letters, the lights focused on Panny because she was the one reading them. During the scenes where Lefty and Evvie are in the department store, the lights are full and bright because it mimics an actual store. The entire stage was lit up and it was not a serious focus on the couple. The phone conversations between Panny and Hugo had a moderate brightness that was more casual than the department store lighting. It was more of a classic, homey mood rather than a retail mood. One of the most important times of lighting is during the scenes with the man and Panny. When they are alone in the dark desert, the light only shines on them. The stage is dark and signals to the audience that they are far from other people. It ensured that the audience felt the terror that Panny must have felt. The team did a great job changing the brightness to correspond with each scene. Upon reading B.F.E., I imagined it be a sarcastic play with serious themes. The characters are witty and different from one another. When I watched the play, I really got a sense of the comedy that I missed while reading it. I found myself laughing more than I expected to because of the way the actors and actresses brought out the humour. The scenes were Panny is miserable because of society’s beauty standards felt heartbreaking when I watched it. Panny looked young and truly like she was disgusted with herself. It was much easier to sympathize with her by watching it in person than reading it. Reading the last scene felt bland and cut off in the script in comparison to the play. Watching the lights go dark while Lefty and Isabel blankly stare into the television was almost creepy. It made me rethink the ending and how I interpreted the message. This has been one of my favorites performances that focused on characters and important themes that are in the our society to this day.
The costumes were one of my favorite parts of the play because they were realistic and easy to recognize. Panny’s outfit definitely resembled an outfit of a young teenager in the nineties, especially with the light wash jeans and scrunchie! It was easy to recognize her age range with the outfit. Her costume compared to her friend Nancy’s was obivous in the beginning. Nancy wore a short overall dress that seemed a bit more open than Panny’s. Nancy’s character is much more outgoing than Panny which was translated into their costumes. Isabell’s fluffy pink robe screamed, “DIVA” which was fitting for her character. She is a stuck-up mom who focuses on her beauty for a living. It seemed like she just spent her day relaxing at a spa and lounging around. Evvie’s costume had a nerdy, quirky look with her chunky jewelry and patterned skirt. Lefty’s neutral colored uniform displayed his shy personality. Once he was getting more comfortable and confident, he dressed up in a more stylish button-down shirt. It was a shift in character that was seen physically as well as emotionally. Hae-Yoon wore a navy blue unfirom that had a buttoned jacket, high socks, and pleated skirt. Her uniform represented traditional culture from Korea and contrasted between the casual American style. It went well with her preppy personality. They all complimented the characters so well and it was one of the strengths of the play. The portrayal of the characters were also some of the best components to the play.
The actors and actresses overall did a great job during their performance but some stood out more than others. Hae-Yoon was my favorite character because of the excitement she brought to the stage. Well, technically she was not on stage, she was in the balcony above the audience. When she read out her letters to Panny, she projected her voice loud enough for the audience to hear her. It seemed as though we were all listening to her read in our heads because she was not on stage. It was a unique and perfect choice to have her on the balcony! Her accent made the letters seem much more authentic than it would have been without one. Hae-Yoon brought laughter that was needed for intense moments in the play. Lefty’s shy, nerdy personality was enhanced by the actor’s timid voice. He stuttered at the perfect time when he and Evvie had intimate conversations. Evvie’s performance was a comedic relief similar to Hae-Yoon!
Evvie’s character is an outgoing, department store cashier who was portrayed by an amazing actress. She brought out Evvie’s creative ideas that confused me while reading the script. Her hand gestures helped me understand her point of view which made the conversation with Lefty easier to follow. Another strong character was Panny’s mother because of her difficult personality. The actress brought out the diva in Isabel and I enjoyed it. She gave her an accent and made sure to be very graceful. She fluttered her lashes in a flirty way when she was with Jack and it made the scene believable. She did a good job, but she was not my favorite character just merely based on the character herself, not the actress’ performance. The actor for Jack/General was such an appropriate choice because he was handsome, yet did look a bit young. He was charming as the general, but as Jack, he was more immature and silly. Panny did a decent job because the way her character is structured. She is a moody teen and she does not stand out too much compared to some of the other stronger characters. I do not think her performance was the best, but it was not horrible by any means. However, I did miss the her first monologue at the beginning so I can not critique her performance at the beginning.
The set for B.F.E. was minimalistic and left it up to the audience to imagine it. They placed crates on one side of the stage while the other side has a couch and television. I have seen a couple places in the past were the set had massive pieces that required so much time to move between scenes. I enjoyed the flow of the play better without such a wild set because it helped focus on the performance itself. B.F.E. does not need specific decorations that make the play succeed, it only needed a few basic things like the telephone and T.V. The transitions, which were the dimming of the lights, were quick and simple. Longer transitions with more decor distract the audience and break up the pattern of the performance. It was easy to imagine the different scenarios in which the characters were in such as Panny’s bedroom or the mall food court. A simple set was the perfect choice for this piece because of the fast paced, short scenes.
There were a couple specific sounds that were heard throughout the play. The main focus was the telephone ringing in various scenes. It was important to actually hear the ringing because the set is so simple, key details are important. The ringing during the last couple minutes of the play was symbolic and brought together the entire message of the play. The television playing Isabel’s documentary was the queue for the General to sweep her off her feet. I enjoyed that the audience could hear the commentary from the T.V. because without it, she was just be staring into a blank screen. Music was heard in serious times such as when Panny was alone with the mysterious man. The eerie music intensifies the scene and leaves the audience at the edge of their seat! Even though music was kept to a minimum, it parallels with the simplistic theme of the set.
Lighting was another point that was key to the interpretation of the play. Panny begins with her monologue where the light focuses on her in the middle of the stage. When I read the script, I imagined her to be thinking to herself. Whenever Panny read Hae-Yoon’s letters, the lights focused on Panny because she was the one reading them. During the scenes where Lefty and Evvie are in the department store, the lights are full and bright because it mimics an actual store. The entire stage was lit up and it was not a serious focus on the couple. The phone conversations between Panny and Hugo had a moderate brightness that was more casual than the department store lighting. It was more of a classic, homey mood rather than a retail mood. One of the most important times of lighting is during the scenes with the man and Panny. When they are alone in the dark desert, the light only shines on them. The stage is dark and signals to the audience that they are far from other people. It ensured that the audience felt the terror that Panny must have felt. The team did a great job changing the brightness to correspond with each scene.
Upon reading B.F.E., I imagined it be a sarcastic play with serious themes. The characters are witty and different from one another. When I watched the play, I really got a sense of the comedy that I missed while reading it. I found myself laughing more than I expected to because of the way the actors and actresses brought out the humour. The scenes were Panny is miserable because of society’s beauty standards felt heartbreaking when I watched it. Panny looked young and truly like she was disgusted with herself. It was much easier to sympathize with her by watching it in person than reading it. Reading the last scene felt bland and cut off in the script in comparison to the play. Watching the lights go dark while Lefty and Isabel blankly stare into the television was almost creepy. It made me rethink the ending and how I interpreted the message. This has been one of my favorites performances that focused on characters and important themes that are in the our society to this day.